MIT, Pfizer break ground on 610 Main
Monday morning, MIT and pharmaceutical giant Pfizer celebrated the official groundbreaking of a new research center right next to campus. MIT President Susan J. Hockfield opened the ceremony, whose speakers included Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick and Pfizer President of Worldwide Research and Development Mikael Dolsten. With a mighty heave — literally — they and other participants shoveled dirt and took the first step toward what Hockfield described as “the best way to support innovation in Cambridge.”
Occupy UC digs heels in
LOS ANGELES — It has become something of an annual tradition on California college campuses, in what is perhaps the most prestigious state university system in the country: the state makes large cuts in public universities, they in turn raise tuition, and students respond with angry protests.
Committee gathers community feedback on Orientation, again
This past Monday, the Review Committee on Orientation, which was formed in March to examine and re-evaluate MIT’s orientation, held its second forum this semester to “put its ears to the ground” and gather community feedback on the pros and cons of various components of orientation. All the efforts of this committee would go into modifying the orientation two years from now, which would likely be “tweaked” rather than “overhauled,” said committee chair Merritt R. Smith, with next year’s orientation remaining unchanged. The meeting included a presentation and a public forum, where students and staff spoke about FPOPs, REX, greek rush, and CityDays.
Locks impending for Student Center
The Campus Activities Complex (CAC) plans to replace the nearly 25-year-old front doors of the Student Center with new doors equipped with locks and card readers.
The Constitution of the UA
We, the undergraduate students of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), in order to improve the quality of our education, to provide ourselves with services which would otherwise not be provided, to express our views and represent ourselves in collaboration with other groups whose decisions affect us, and to fairly and accountably allocate resources which have been granted to us as a whole, do create a central body unto which legislative, executive, judicial, and representative powers are conferred.
In wake of theft, security revamped
Dormitory desk workers around campus have been urged to be vigilant about security in wake of a theft at Baker House late last month. With desks as the first defense against intruders, many dorms have recently rolled out new policies and been more strict about basic desk policies. Sign-in sheets and guest lists have been emphasized, and two desk workers have been posted during dining hours in dining dorms. Spare room keys have been pulled from behind the desks of several dorms and that policy will likely be applied to all dormitories soon, according to MIT’s office for residential life.
Desk policies vary across campus
Must pass desk to get in? Desk Hours Extra workers? Sign in sheet for visitors?* Guest lists?* Visitor escort needed? Keys available at desk? Changes this semester Locked out of dorm? Baker Yes 8 a.m. to 2 a.m. During dining hours During the evening No Yes Yes Two workers during dining hours. Knock or call Burton Conner Yes 8 a.m. to 1 a.m. No Yes Online Yes Yes No Get buzzed in Bexley No 8 a.m. to midnight No No No No No No Knock to be let in East Campus No 8 a.m. to 2 a.m. No No No No No No keys for checkout at desk Call to bet let in MacGregor No 7:45 a.m. to 1 a.m. No Yes At desk Yes Yes No Knock or call Maseeh** Yes 7:30 a.m. to 12:30 a.m. During dining hours Yes Yes Yes Yes No Knock McCormick Yes 7:30 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. During dining Yes Yes Yes Yes Two workers during dining hours. Knock or ring bell New House No 8 a.m. to midnight No Yes No Yes Yes No longer allowed to check out keys to non residents. Knock or call to be let in Next House Yes 8 a.m. to 1 a.m. During dining hours Yes At desk Yes Yes Two workers during dining hours. Ring doorbell, talk to desk worker Random Hall Uncertain 8 a.m. to midnight weekdays, 8 a.m. to 2 a.m. weekends No Yes At desk After midnight Yes No longer allowed to check out keys to non residents. Knock, talk to desk worker Senior House Yes 8 a.m. to 1 a.m. No Yes No Yes Yes No Knock Simmons No 7:15 a.m. to 12:45 a.m. During dining hours Yes Online Yes, if not on guest list. If on guest list, no. Yes Two workers during dining hours. Knock
Swartz indicted for breaking and entering
Aaron H. Swartz, the former Harvard ethics fellow who allegedly orchestrated a mass download of JSTOR documents from an MIT network closet, was indicted a second time yesterday, this time in Middlesex Superior Court.
UA Council Bylaws
The name of this organization shall be the Council of the Undergraduate Association of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Council).
Cambridge elects new City Council
Municipal elections in Cambridge wrapped up last week, with only one nonincumbent councillor winning a seat on Cambridge City Council. Minka Y. vanBeuzekom won over Sam Seidel, but all eight other councillors will return next year. The new Council officially takes office on Jan. 2, 2012.
UA draft constitution & bylaws released for new government
After months of committee work, the UA has released a draft constitution and bylaws for a revamped governing structure, which President Allan E. Miramonti ’13 hopes to instate during an IAP transition period. The proposed changes went to debate at the UA Senate last night, and Senate will have to approve the changes within three meetings — otherwise, they must be re-submitted.
Harvard walks out of Econ 10
On Nov. 2, 70 Harvard students walked out of class in the middle of their introductory Economics 10 lecture to show solidarity with the Occupy Boston movement and protest the conservative bias they felt was present in their course.
Rainn Wilson comes to MIT to discuss Bahá’í film
Last Friday, Nov. 11, the MIT community welcomed Rainn Wilson, popularly known as Dwight Schrute from NBC’s The Office, as a panelist for Amnesty International’s screening and discussion of the documentary Education Under Fire.
Sikka ’13 elected Panhel president
The Panhellenic Association released the names of its new executive board Sunday, elected earlier this month. Denzil Sikka ’13 of Alpha Phi, Panhel’s current vice president for finance and administration, will take over as president on Dec. 10. Panhel’s new officers were elected by a majority vote of the six Panhel delegates from their respective sororities. Topping Sikka’s priority list for Panhel is a revamped website and increased sharing of information among sororities, specifically regarding events and scholarships. She also wants to continue to ensure smooth sorority recruitment periods and “inspire Panhellenic spirit.”
Classes overflowing!
People say that attending MIT is like drinking from a fire hose. In many classes this fall, however, the only overflow was in the classrooms.
Professor emeritus Gobind Khorana, Nobel Prize winner, dies at 89
H. Gobind Khorana, MIT’s Alfred P. Sloan Professor of Biology and Chemistry emeritus, died of natural causes in Concord, Mass., Wednesday morning. He was 89.
MIT Post Office on chopping block again
The MIT Post Office’s future once again looks grim, especially in the context of the U.S. Postal Service’s continuing fiscal problems.